Neighbors up there have a sinking feeling: Round Hill Road will continue to be fenced off for at least the next two weeks. The road is now two barricaded dead-ends, with no crosstown access for cars, pedestrians or bikers. In an email sent August 26th to Janet Gross, a Round Hill Road resident, in response … Continue reading The news from Round Hill is not good.

There was a changing of the guard the other day at city hall. The deputies and captains lined the back of the upstairs conference room. Control of the Fire Department was being handed down to the chosen successor, and we reporters asked our respectful questions, and went home to write our stories. On the stage was … Continue reading New Fire Chief named: Northampton’s top 100 wage-earners

The view from the Fire Scene When I read the Gazette’s story on the Claudio Guerra fire, it sounded a lot like the 2008 Shepherd’s Hollow blaze that demolished the home of Ed Jazab. A house up on a hill, a low pressure hydrant, a narrow access road. Now that I have been out talking to neighbors, … Continue reading The High Cost of a View

Posted by Anonymous as a comment, February 3rd,2014 at 11:27AM and promoted to be lead story by the editor.“You should all check out the budget information slides the mayor presented to the council last week. One of the slides in particular showed the exploding costs of police and fire services in the city since … Continue reading Check out the figures